


The Anywhere Book Club

by BaileyB00



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, but like, jeongin is just a shy lil bean, me? writing confident felix? more likely than you think, same, they made a book club so that’s fun, theyre all fuckin NERDS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 03:58:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19265446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaileyB00/pseuds/BaileyB00
Summary: When Jeongin was ten years old, he and his newfound friends started spending time together every Saturday and formed what Minho dubbed the Anywhere Book Club.“Because we can have our meetings anywhere,” Minho explained when Jeongin asked why he called it that. “At school, at the library, at one of our houses. Anywhere we want.”





	The Anywhere Book Club

Jeongin didn't have many friends.

Growing up, he'd always preferred to spend time alone—instead of playing with the other kids on the playground, he took whichever book he was reading that week and found a quiet place to read. Jeongin's parents were concerned at the fact that their son had so few friends, but it never bothered him. He never felt lonely. After all, he had the characters in his books to keep him company. Occasionally, a few other kids sat with him while he read, sometimes to read with him and sometimes just because they, too, were alone that day. They came and went as they pleased, smiling at Jeongin and thanking him for letting them stay. Every time, he returned the smile and said, “Any time.”

As he got older, however, most of his visitors became fewer and more far between, and some became more constant parts of Jeongin's life: Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung. When Jeongin was ten, the four of them started spending time together every Saturday and formed what Minho dubbed the Anywhere Book Club.

“Because we can have our meetings anywhere,” Minho explained when Jeongin asked why he called it that. “At school, at the library, at one of our houses. Anywhere we want.”

From that day forth, the members of the Anywhere Book Club were an inseparable quartet. They devoured books as a group; they read everything from Harry Potter to Stephen King to Percy Jackson (which was the result of many a polarizing argument—for example, Minho and Hyunjin were firm believers that Jason was a bad character in the Heroes of Olympus books while Jisung and Jeongin loved Jason; they had to agree to disagree lest their friendship be torn apart). Even when they weren't doing Anywhere Book Club-related activities, they were almost never apart.

Until the summer before Jeongin's junior year of high school.

His parents sat him down and broke the news: they were moving. Not too far away, they reassured him, just to the other side of the city. But that meant he'd have to change schools.

He cried for an hour that night. He didn't know what he'd do without his friends. At around midnight, he told them the bad news.

 

**Anywhere Book Club (11:57 PM)**

babie: guys  
babie: i have something to tell you

JasonDeservedBetter: qhat is ir i am truing tosleep

babie: jisung this is serious

JasonDeservedBetter: suddenly I am awake  
JasonDeservedBetter: what's up buddy?

jinnie: what’s wrong jeongin?

babie: ...

JasonDeservedNOTHING: innie you can tell us

babie: i have to move.

jinnie: ?

JasonDeservedNOTHING: what?

JasonDeservedBetter: u serious?

babie: yeah  
babie: my parenfs jus told me tonight  
babie: idk what im gonna do without you guys  
babie: like i know they said were not going that far away but i won't be able to go to school with you guys anymore

JasonDeservedBetter: it's gonna be okay innie !

jinnie: ^^^ what the idiot said

JasonDeservedBetter: HEY

jinnie: we're here for u

babie: thanks, but  
babie: what about our club?

JasonDeservedNOTHING: it's called the Anywhere Book Club, isn't it?

babie: ...yes?

JasonDeservedNOTHING: and what did I tell you when you asked me why I decided to call it that?  
JasonDeservedNOTHING: that we can be anywhere.  
JasonDeservedNOTHING: just because you have to move doesn't mean our club, or our friendship for that matter, is just gonna stop.  
JasonDeservedNOTHING: we're not just gonna disappear, Jeongin. you'll always have us around.

babie: thanks im cryin now  
babie: you're the best  
babie: i love you guys

JasonDeservedNOTHING: we love you too!

JasonDeservedBetter: love u too innie <3

jinnie: we love you back innie!!!

 

Yeah, Jeongin thought with a smile as he put his phone away. He was going to be okay.

Less than a month later, Jeongin's life was packed into various boxes. On his last day in the house in which he grew up, his friends came to see him off.

He was immediately engulfed in a four-way hug when they arrived. They spent the day together in Jeongin's house for what they knew would be the last time. When it was finally time for Jeongin to leave, he was met with sad goodbyes from his friends. He gave them each a tight hug and a tearful smile; he promised he'd see them soon.

Three days after moving into the new house, everything was (mostly) unpacked, and Jeongin was exhausted. So, he decided to do what he knew best—he pulled one of his favorite books (J.D. Salinger’s _The Catcher in the Rye)_ off the shelf, told his parents he'd be back later, and set off for the nearest park. He'd seen one around when they'd first driven to this part of the city, so it didn't take him long to find it. He found a park bench next to a tall tree and opened his book, relaxed.

He'd just gotten to the part where Holden gets punched by Maurice when he was nearly startled out of his skin by a loud, deep voice behind him saying, “That's my bench.”

Jeongin heart leapt whipped around to find a (rather cute) boy in a soft-looking pink sweater and a book in hand standing there. “Oh, um, sorry,” Jeongin mumbled. “I'll just—I'll go.” He closed his book and stood to make a quick getaway.

“No, no—you can stay. I was just kidding,” the boy said with a laugh.

Jeongin blinked. “Are. . . you sure?” he asked hesitantly.

“I'm sure,” the boy said, smiling brightly and gesturing with his book for Jeongin to sit. He did, and the stranger did the same. He pulled his legs up so that he was sitting cross-legged facing Jeongin.

“I'm Felix,” the boy introduced himself, flashing that brilliant smile again.

“Um,” Jeongin said, fiddling awkwardly with his book, “I'm Jeongin.”

“Nice to meet you, then, Jeongin,” Felix replied. “What are you reading?”

Jeongin held his book up for Felix to see. Felix gasped delightedly. “I love that book,” he exclaimed, and Jeongin's heart swooped. Even his friends in the Anywhere Book Club didn't understand why he enjoyed _The Catcher in the Rye_ as much as he did.

“It's one of my favorites,” Jeongin said, blushing when Felix's smile brightened, which should not have been physically possible. “What are you reading?”

Felix held up his own book: _Flowers For Algernon_ by Daniel Keyes. “Oh my god,” Jeongin said. “Have you read it before?”

“No,” Felix said. “I take it you have?” Jeongin nodded. “Does something bad happen?” Felix asked.

“Oh no, absolutely not,” Jeongin said. “I will not be the cause of spoilers. I can neither confirm nor deny anything that happens at the end of that book.”

Felix grinned. “Okay,” he said, “then in that case, give me your phone.”

Jeongin blinked. “Why?”

“So I can text you when I finish it,” Felix said, “duh.” He made grabbing motions with his hands at Jeongin, and he simply couldn't resist. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Felix, who eagerly took it and began tapping on the screen before. . .

“Are—are you taking a selfie on my phone?” Jeongin asked, bewildered.

“Yep,” Felix chirped. “You need to have a cute picture of me to use as my contact photo.” He said it so seriously, Jeongin found himself nodding along.

“Hey,” Felix said, looking at Jeongin's phone, “you got a message, from. . . The Anywhere Book Club? What's that?”

Jeongin snatched his phone back. “Oh, yeah—that's just my friends. We read books together and stuff.” Wow, what a very smooth, well-put together answer, there, idiot, Jeongin thought.

To his surprise, Felix replied, “Really? Sounds cool.”

“I—I guess.”

“I don't really understand the name, though,” Felix said.

“One of my friends came up with it,” Jeongin explained. “Basically it means that we can be anywhere and still exist together as a club, as a group of friends, whatever you wanna call us.”

“Really? Anywhere?” Felix asked with a grin. “Does that mean I could join?”

Jeongin went red. “I, uh—”

“You don't have to let me join if you don't want me to,” Felix interrupted. “I just think it sounds cool.”

“No, that's—that's not—I—”

“Jeongin,” Felix said, placing a hand on Jeongin's knee and cocking an eyebrow in concern, “it's really fine. But, are you okay? You seem kinda—”

“You can join,” Jeongin blurted. His face was on fire. “The Anywhere Book Club. You can join. Sorry, it's just that no one's really ever asked to join before.”

Felix smiled brightly. “Their loss, then,” he said.

“Well, um—I should go,” Jeongin said awkwardly. “I, um, yeah. I'll let you read.”

“Okay,” Felix said. “I'll text you as soon as I finish this book so we can talk about it.”

Jeongin nodded, smiling and pushing his round wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Bye, Felix,” he said with a tiny wave.

“Bye,” Felix replied with a giggle. “I'll see you around, Jeonginnie?”

Jeongin blushed and looked down at his feet. “Yeah,” he said with a small smile.

 

**Message from: felix aka the cute boy u met in the park (10:42 PM)**

felix aka the cute boy u met in the park: JEONGIN  
felix aka the cute boy u met in the park: It’S FELIX  
felix aka the cute boy u met in the park: I JUSFINISHDD FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON  
felix aka the cute boy u met in the park: THE FUVK KIND OF ENDING WAS T HA T

innie: before you continue

_[innie has renamed felix aka the cute boy u met in the park to freckles]_

innie: much better  
innie: go on

freckles: MY HEART IS CRUSHED  
freckles: I CANT BELIEVE THIS  
freckles: I AM DEAD  
freckles: OH, I DIE, HORATIO; THE POTENT POISON QUITE O’ER-CROWS MY SPIRIT

innie: is quoting hamlet really necessary

freckles: y e s  
freckles: idk what I'm gonna do with myself now

innie: here's an idea  
innie: read something else ?  
innie: something happier ?

freckles: do u have any recommendations

innie: oh absolutely.  
innie: consider this your initiation of sorts into the Anywhere Book Club

freckles: :D

innie: 1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell  
innie: 2. More Than This by Patrick Ness  
innie: 3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz  
innie: GO

freckles: hmm  
freckles: will you come with me to the library sometime?  
freckles: & help me find them?

innie: uh  
innie: sure  
innie: if you want

freckles: well yeah  
freckles: that's why I asked lol

innie: okay  
innie: when were you thinking?

freckles: tomorrow ?  
freckles: if you want to

innie: sounds great

freckles: okay then  
freckles: see you tomorrow jeonginnie!!

innie: okay  
innie: tomorrow  
innie: see you tomorrow  
innie: i'm gonna like  
innie: go to sleep now

freckles: sleep well cutie<3

 

_What._

Without responding, Jeongin quickly shoved his phone away from him and did his best to fall asleep. His face was burning. How on earth was he going to survive meeting up with Felix the next day?

 

——————————

 

It took Jeongin forever to find the library.

His parents had to work, so he had no choice but to walk, Google Mapping his way there. He supposed he could have asked Felix to tell him where he was supposed to go, but he was far too nervous for that.

Once he got to the library, he found a quiet, comfortable place to sit and wait for Felix. The boy texted him just after he sat down saying he’d be there soon (Jeongin has to force himself to ignore the little winky face he added to the end of the message to prevent death by heart palpitations). He’d brought his own list of books he’d like to look for; he took it out of his pocket and looked it over in an attempt to think about something other than Felix.

Needless to say, it didn’t work very well.

“Hey, Jeongin.”

He jumped. Speak of the devil.

(That is, if the devil has hair the color of sunlight, a heart-stopping smile, and an affinity for soft, peach-pink sweaters.)

“Oh, h-hey, Felix,” Jeongin stuttered. “Um, what's up?”

Felix flopped down onto the couch next to him, way too close for Jeongin's heart to handle. “What’s up?” Felix repeated with a laugh. “We’re here to look for books. Don’t you remember, or was our entire conversation that forgettable?”

Jeongin's face went red. “No, I—I mean yes! I mean—ugh.” He buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment.

“Aw, Jeonginnie, you're so cute,” Felix cooed, reaching up and gently pulling Jeongin's hands away from his face. “Why are you hiding? Am I really that ugly?”

“What? No!” Jeongin exclaimed. He was definitely not thinking about how gently Felix was holding his hands. “You're not—no. Just, no. Let’s just, um. Look for your books.”

“Okay.” Felix kept his grip on Jeongin’s hand as he pulled him off the couch and towards the bookshelves. Jeongin’s heart was hammering. He wordlessly allowed Felix to guide him around the corner and into a separate room, in which they were all alone.

“This is where all the good books are,” Felix said. “Not that many people come in here, other than me. And now you.”

“And now me,” Jeongin echoed. They stared at each other for a few beats of silence before Felix said, “So. . . about those books.”

“Right.” Jeongin turned towards the shelves, grateful for an excuse to hide his blush. He scanned the shelves, trying not to notice the burning feeling that came from knowing Felix was looking at him.

“Right, so,” Jeongin said after a few moments, “I could only find one. _Carry On.”_ He pulled it off the shelf and handed it to Felix.

“What’s this one about?” Felix asked.

“There’s magic and stuff. It’s supposed to be kinda like Harry Potter. Oh, and the two main characters, Simon and Baz, fall in love. Snowbaz forever,” Jeongin said.

Felix laughed. “Sounds promising,” he said. “I’m sold.”

“God, I still remember the first time I read that book,” Jeongin said. “About a year or so ago. I literally squealed when Simon and Baz finally kissed.”

Before Jeongin knew what was happening, Felix was leaning in. He didn’t have time to breathe before Felix’s soft lips were pressing gently against his own.

Jeongin’s heart stopped. Seconds later, Felix pulled away, their faces mere inches away from each other’s. “Like that?” Felix whispered, a small smile dancing on his lips.

Jeongin gulped. He didn’t know where to look, so he just held Felix’s gaze. It was as if the universe had shrunk down to this room: outside of what was happening right now, nothing else was of very much importance. He nodded.

“Good,” Felix said, stepping away and taking the book from Jeongin’s hands. “Now I’m looking forward to this book even more.”

“Can—um,” Jeongin stuttered. “Why—why’d you do that?”

Felix raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

“K-kiss me.”

“Because you’re cute,” Felix said. Then he frowned, looking worried. “Did I—was that okay? I’m sor—”

“Can you do it again?”

Felix halted. The concerned expression melted off his face and was replaced with a smile. “Well,” he said, “since you asked so nicely.”

He set the book down and stepped right into Jeongin’s space. “I can practically hear your heartbeat,” Felix whispered. “Don’t worry so much, okay, Jeonginnie?”

Jeongin nodded. “Okay,” he whispered, barely audible.

When Felix kissed him the second time, Jeongin practically melted. Their hands were entwined between them, pressed between their chests. Jeongin squeezed Felix’s hands. When they finally pulled away, Jeongin’s lips were cherry-red.

“You know,” Felix said, “I’m glad you were sitting on my park bench.”

Jeongin blushed. “Me too,” he said with a small smile.

They spent the next two hours talking about books (but if Jeongin was being honest, they spent a lot of their time kissing and, if anyone saw them, giggling to each other and finding a new spot to sit). When they eventually had to leave, Felix took Jeongin by the hand. They left the library happily, Felix with a brand new book, Jeongin with a stomach filled to the brim with butterflies, and both with wide, happy smiles stretched across their faces. He walked Jeongin home, pausing only when they reached his front door.

“That was fun,” Jeongin said. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Which part?” Felix asked. “Picking out the book, or me kissing you?”

“Both,” Jeongin admitted.

“Good,” Felix said with a laugh before leaning in and pecking Jeongin on the lips. “Then in that case, will I see you tomorrow?”

Jeongin smiled and nodded. “Tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> happy pride month gays
> 
> here is my [tumblr,](https://bbaileyb00.tumblr.com/) if you wanna come yell at me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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